by Topher Ryals

Too Much Driving Weekend Recap

I spent the entirety of this past weekend driving to, hanging out in, and driving back from Vermont with my wife and dog. Nature’s really beautiful sometimes, but it’s just not the same as staring at a screen for an extended period. Good thing I still found some time to do that.

Here’s everything I watched and played this weekend (including an incredibly enjoyable second time watching Wonder Woman, this time at home in glorious 4K):

The Good Place

The Good Place quickly jumped into the company of The Office and Parks and Recreation as one of my favorite shows when it debuted last year, and its second season has kept it there. Last Thursday’s episode was another great entry, putting Ted Danson’s comedic talents to great use. For the most part, The Good Place is the kind of show that just keeps getting better with each new episode.

It may be heavily serialized, but it’s not too hard to catch up on everything that’s aired so far. It’s definitely worth it.

Modern Family

I caught last week’s episode of Modern Family over the weekend too. I can’t remember the last time I actually laughed at something in one of its episodes, but the show continues to be pleasantly amusing in a relatable way more often than not.

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle

I’m dangerously close to finishing Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, but I got wrecked by its final boss a couple times last night and I’m not sure how long it’s going to take me to get through it.

Chopped

Sometimes it’s nice to spend some time away from stories and narrative art forms. This weekend, with its multiple 10 hour drives, was one of those times.

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman didn’t lose any of its magic or charm in my second time watching it. The whole movie is still a joy to watch, and Diana crossing No Man’s Land is among the most important and spectacular scenes ever—for its visuals and more importantly for the impact those visuals have. I could watch that scene over and over, but Wonder Woman is worth every second from beginning to end. The story is standard comic book adaptation fare, but the movie as a whole is so much more than that.

Here’s to hoping Warner Bros. can follow the path laid out by Wonder Woman for the future of its movie universe.

Highlight:Wonder Woman. Again. It’s a special movie for a lot of reasons, even if its core is ripped straight from the superhero origin story playbook. I’ll definitely be watching it again. And again…

On the way: I’m still hoping to finish Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle soon, but this Bowser boss fight is giving me more trouble than I know how to deal with right now. I’m going to dive a little deeper into Middle-earth: Shadow of War over the next couple days, but the bulk of my entertainment this week is going to come from whatever screenings I happen to work my way into at Austin Film Festival this weekend. I missed WWE’s Tables, Ladders, and Chairs event last night, so I’m hoping to squeeze that in too.

What did you watch and play this weekend? Let me know in the comments.